BCCI chief liable for perjury: SC

The Supreme Court on Thursday said BCCI president Anurag Thakur was prima facie liable for perjury and contempt for seeking a letter from the International Cricket Council and then denying it.

The court said he could be sent to jail for perjury if he does not apologise for seeking a letter that the Lodha Committee recommendations on cricket reforms amounted to governmental interference.

A three-judge bench presided over by Chief Justice T S Thakur said, “We are inclined to launch prosecution against him for perjury and contempt.”

Sensing the court’s mood, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), was quick to state, “If the court is of this view, we don’t have any option. I am willing to apologise.” He, however, vehemently denied seeking any letter from the ICC.

The



court indicated that Thakur as well as BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke would face strong action for not coming clean and making an attempt to sidestep implementation of the panel’s recommendations on age cap and fixing the number of terms for BCCI office-bearers, among others.

On October 21, the court had sought to enquire if Thakur had in fact written to ICC chairman Shashank Manohar in this regard.“You ought to apologise if you want to escape. What do you think we don’t understand your intent? You asked for a letter from the ICC to the effect that a CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) nominee in the cricket board amounted to interference. You had no occasion at all to do so. You know it very well that the same would bring in transparency only,” the bench told Sibal.

“We are prima facie of the view that you (BCCI) are obstructing (the implementation of the Lodha panel reforms),” the bench, also comprising Justices D Y Chandrachud and A M Khanwilkar, further told Sibal. After the Supreme Court’s July 18 judgement approving the recommendations, the board is not entitled to say ‘no’ to it, the bench said.